10 Traditional Polish Soups

Few weeks ago I met a Greek couple leaving in Warsaw. Dimitris asked me to show him how to cook Bigos. When we talked about Polish cuisine, Anja said that soups are something special for Poland. And this is a fact: in Poland soups are a staple in Polish homes for dinner. You can get it also in any restaurant, served as an appetizer. Check my review of 10 Traditional Polish Soups, soups I like the most and which are the most specific to Polish cuisine.

Rosół is Polish chicken noodle soup. Actually not only chicken is used – you can cook it with turkey, beef, veal, pork, the more kinds of meat in it – the better. Poles eat Rosół on a family Sunday dinner, just before serving another staple: Polish schnitzel – Kotlet schabowy:)

Rosół is often called a Polish penicillin, traditionally it is served when someone gets sick.

Polish Sour Rye Soup Żurek is traditionally prepared for Easter. It is a creamy and thick soup thanks to fermented rye flour used (zakwas). It’s hearty and filling, often served with Polish sausage and hard boiled eggs.

This clear vegetable soup is traditionally served for Chistmas Eve. Wigilia dinner in Poland is usually meatless. Celebration starts when the first star is found in the sky by children. Poles eat Beets Borscht with Uszka – small ring size dumplings with mushrooms and sauerkraut filling.

Krupnik is a Polish chicken soup with vegetables and barley. There are carrots, potatoes, barley and meat in it. We also often add parsley for serving, I think this is a favorite Polish green sprinkle for soups:).

I don’t know if sorrel is used in other countries, in Poland this is an ingredient of very popular homemade soup. As a child I loved it and I still do:) Sour and sweet, made of sorrel collected in the summer and preserved in the jar for the rest of the season. Yum!

Polish tripe soup have been often served as a wedding appetizer, it is also a staple on other occasions such as First Communion and Christianity. Either you love it or hate it, but as I observe most of the Poles like flaki:) It is originated in zero waste PRL cuisine.

Lithuanian Cold Borscht is a very popular soup in Summer. It is made of fermented milk drinks, cooked beets and lots of fresh rare vegetables: spring onions, cucumbers, horseradish, parsley. Chłodnik is thick and refreshing, perfect for Summer.